ABOUT
I first felt the impact of music in the mid-1970s when the walls of my shared bedroom were adorned with colourful 7” picture discs and my bed was propped up by crates filled with 7” singles waiting to be played at the local clubs. As a teenager, my first tentative efforts to apply my artistic skills to music imagery saw me painting the back of the same bedroom door with an image of the Earth peeling to reveal a greying skull. Just like the cover of Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygene, the painting endured but as my passion for music intensified, I turned my attention to the 7” single. More than just 3 minutes of audio, an early 80s single sleeve provided an instant visual connection to the performer, sometimes enough to foster an enduring relationship with the latest band or artist.
My professional career took me into graphic design and the advertising industry but in 2011, following a change in circumstance, I began to explore ways to reconnect with my love of music and the iconic 7” single. Initially as part of a medical rehabilitation programme, I found that a paintbrush and modelling clay gave me a freedom of expression that I had lost with a computer mouse and screen. Then, as I investigated a range of methods, materials and media, I found I could build dramatic and impactful representations of my own favourite 7” singles.
After 4 years, and having worked through iterations optimising weight, style, accuracy, size and quality, I have now settled on a reproducible technique that allows me to create individual pieces of art as unique as the memories they evoke. Within my designs, each individual component is carefully placed in relation to the next encouraging the whole to take on an edginess that adds to its overall appeal. Once fixed within a handmade frame, each bespoke model replica of an iconic 7” single offers a nostalgic link to the past.
To me, a vinyl single represents so much more than an instant digital download ever could. The hours spent searching the racks of my local independent record shop – Record Scene in Sunbury Cross – have created an emotional connection to the 7” single, and while vinyl may not have the convenience or portability of Spotify, there is something beautiful and tangible within its simple and instantly recognisable form.
As the burgeoning vinyl revolution takes off, and vinyl becomes something of a luxury item, I am delighted to be able to create unique pieces of hand-painted modelled art with the power to conjure memories of a time and place that no longer feels quite so far away.
Biography
Chris Filsell lives and works in Berkshire. Following 25 years as a designer working within the advertising industry Chris took a step away from generating disposable commercial images and challenged himself to produce unique pieces of art inspired by iconic design and the burgeoning vinyl revolution. As a self-taught modeller with a passion for music dating back to the late-punk period, Chris took a thoughtful and iterative approach to perfect the production of 5" miniature and giant 21” framed model replicas of instantly recognisable 7” singles. In recent months, Chris’s attention to detail and quality have led him to accept his first commissions.
Under the guise of myfortyfive.com, Chris has shared his highly original large-scale models with a select few at:
• Maidenhead’s Norden Farm Arts Centre, in conjunction with The Vinyl Frontier
• The National Audio Show 2014, Whittlebury, Northants
• BBC Radio Berkshire, in conversation with Matt Allwright and Mike Read
• A charitable Jam memorabilia silent auction held for The Woking Hospice
Chris’s impressive portfolio features pieces from the 1950s through to the early 1980s featuring artists as diverse as Dinah Washington, The Small Faces, Bob Dylan and The Jam. He is now committed to gaining a wider audience by creating miniature replicas as well as individual works of art that reflect the music-consuming public’s endearing love for vinyl.
My professional career took me into graphic design and the advertising industry but in 2011, following a change in circumstance, I began to explore ways to reconnect with my love of music and the iconic 7” single. Initially as part of a medical rehabilitation programme, I found that a paintbrush and modelling clay gave me a freedom of expression that I had lost with a computer mouse and screen. Then, as I investigated a range of methods, materials and media, I found I could build dramatic and impactful representations of my own favourite 7” singles.
After 4 years, and having worked through iterations optimising weight, style, accuracy, size and quality, I have now settled on a reproducible technique that allows me to create individual pieces of art as unique as the memories they evoke. Within my designs, each individual component is carefully placed in relation to the next encouraging the whole to take on an edginess that adds to its overall appeal. Once fixed within a handmade frame, each bespoke model replica of an iconic 7” single offers a nostalgic link to the past.
To me, a vinyl single represents so much more than an instant digital download ever could. The hours spent searching the racks of my local independent record shop – Record Scene in Sunbury Cross – have created an emotional connection to the 7” single, and while vinyl may not have the convenience or portability of Spotify, there is something beautiful and tangible within its simple and instantly recognisable form.
As the burgeoning vinyl revolution takes off, and vinyl becomes something of a luxury item, I am delighted to be able to create unique pieces of hand-painted modelled art with the power to conjure memories of a time and place that no longer feels quite so far away.
Biography
Chris Filsell lives and works in Berkshire. Following 25 years as a designer working within the advertising industry Chris took a step away from generating disposable commercial images and challenged himself to produce unique pieces of art inspired by iconic design and the burgeoning vinyl revolution. As a self-taught modeller with a passion for music dating back to the late-punk period, Chris took a thoughtful and iterative approach to perfect the production of 5" miniature and giant 21” framed model replicas of instantly recognisable 7” singles. In recent months, Chris’s attention to detail and quality have led him to accept his first commissions.
Under the guise of myfortyfive.com, Chris has shared his highly original large-scale models with a select few at:
• Maidenhead’s Norden Farm Arts Centre, in conjunction with The Vinyl Frontier
• The National Audio Show 2014, Whittlebury, Northants
• BBC Radio Berkshire, in conversation with Matt Allwright and Mike Read
• A charitable Jam memorabilia silent auction held for The Woking Hospice
Chris’s impressive portfolio features pieces from the 1950s through to the early 1980s featuring artists as diverse as Dinah Washington, The Small Faces, Bob Dylan and The Jam. He is now committed to gaining a wider audience by creating miniature replicas as well as individual works of art that reflect the music-consuming public’s endearing love for vinyl.